I attended the annual CODE Conference outside of Los Angeles this week. Among the highlights was this session on learning the lessons of the esteemed General Magic startup, whose exceptional technical vision (visible in every smartphone used today) was matched solely by its exceptional commercial mis-timing and inability to pivot to the then-nascent internet.

It isn’t frequent: a newly minted public official has the vision, the career experience, the courage and — dare we say it — the elan to lay out his ‘theory of the case:’ what he or she intends to accomplish during his or her term ‘as a servant of the public.’

In this case, the FCC is the agency, and the public servant is Chairman Tom Wheeler.

In this landmark review, Chairman Wheeler not only lays out a powerful and convincing case for ‘data-driven and fact-based’ rule-making, but he does so in an entertaining recounting of the sweep of human experience with communications (from Gutenberg to fiber-optics) that would make our most influential public intellects — and a few professors — proud.

That Mr. Wheeler does this at all is notable. That he does it after only a short time since taking up his role is a sign either of a prodigious work-ethic or of working too hard. That he pulls it off with a style and freshness of voice that makes this not only a must read, but an enjoyable one, too, is simply astonishing.

So ‘Net Effects’ is an important work for anyone involved in technology, media or telecom. Or anyone who uses those services.

Which, after all, is everyone.

(Full disclosure: I know Mr. Wheeler, have worked with him and I am involved in the telecom, media and technology industries that the FCC regulates. I have no current business before the agency).

Happy to recommend this thoughtful post from Rafat Ali, founder and CEO at travel/data startup Skift.com about the increasing convergence of the media business and the data-intelligence business. And a new category is found….(Disclosure: I’m an investor here along with @crovitz and @JimFriedlich and many others)…@rafat @skift #Mediata

I heard from a number of people over the Thanksgiving Holiday who have experienced their own ‘professional epiphanies’ in their careers. These ‘peak moments’ can define a career transition, or give you new energy to continue to pursue your entrepreneurial passion even when many people around you may be skeptical.

It’s important to listen to your ‘inner voice’ when these moments occur.

Wow: Thanks to all your support (and holiday book-buying…), ‘Be Luckier in Life’ made it on to Amazon’s best-seller list this weekend, rising to #10 in the Career>Guides section. The ‘road to success is paved every day,’ so there is still plenty of road ahead. But I am really awestruck by the response from so many people! Thank you!

Can there really be a “system” for creating luck – and if there is one, why don’t we all know it by now?

For the past decade or so I have been accumulating ‘life’ lessons from many remarkable people, including Sen. Bill Bradley, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, philanthropist Ray Chambers and self-made construction magnate Linda Alvarado. And I believe that by learning and adopting the right traits, attitudes and habits, anyone can create the sort of luck that will make her (or him) healthier, wealthier and wiser.

My system is not dry textbook stuff – rather inspirational, motivational and uplifting life lessons about human nature and the way the world works. Adopted over the years by our wisest ancestors, these lessons are a kind of inculcated wisdom and personal philosophy about why — and how — things are. The book includes ten chapters covering each of these simple secrets, drawn from tales of how luck led to success and failure for many of the famous people I have had the good fortune to know and interview – as well as tips for avoiding and limiting bad luck. The secrets will shake up your self-perception and boost your energy – helping you take a fresh approach to your motivations, goals and life.

Although it is one of life’s most-discussed topics, there is surprisingly little analytical rigor brought to the study of luck. As I undertook the thoughtful process of studying the underlying traits and characteristics that have consistently created luck for the most successful people, I began to realize there is a pattern – and even a method — to the seeming randomness of luck.

The “luckiest” of people literally create their own luck by behaving in ways that makes them open to new possibilities and new people. These traits and behaviors are alluring, and this allure itself leads to new opportunities – which – in their abundance – provide an ever-more powerful and complex system of chances for success. It’s a “virtuous circle” where lucky behavior begets ever more luck. This understanding and analysis of a lucky “way of being” is the underpinning of the book, and ultimately — I hope — creates a memorable system for applying those rules for anyone’s life.

It has been working for the people profiled in the book. I hope it works for you.

You can buy the book on Amazon here. Or you can get it in the iBooks bookstore or elsewhere online.